The Golden Door
The first European immigrants in American history came from England
and the Netherlands. Attracted by reports of great economic opportunities
and religious and political freedom, immigrants from many other countries
flocked to the United States in increasing numbers, the flow reaching
a peak in the years 1892-1924. During the late 19th century, the government
operated a special port of entry on Ellis Island; it was in operation
from 1892 until 1954 and is now preserved as part of the Statue of Liberty
National Monument. The Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from the
people of France to the people of America in 1886, stands on an island
in New York Harbor, near Ellis Island. Between 1820 and 1979, the United
States admitted more than 49 million immigrants.

Limits on Newcomers
In 1924, the first laws were passed that set limits on
how many people from specific countries would be admitted to the United
States. The limits were based on the number of people from that country
already living in the country. In 1965, immigration quotas were established
according to who applied first; and national quotas were replaced with
hemispheric ones. Preference was given to relatives of U.S. citizens
and immigrants with specific job skills. In 1978, Congress abandoned
hemispheric quotas and established a worldwide ceiling. The United States
accepts more immigrants than any other country; in 2007,
its population included 38.1 million foreign-born persons (that
is appr. 12.6 % of the total population.) The revised immigration law
of 1990 created a flexible cap of 675,000 immigrants each year, with
certain categories of people exempted from the limit. That law attempts
to attract more skilled workers and professionals to the United States
and to draw immigrants from countries that have supplied relatively
few Americans in recent years.

Illegal Immigrants
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)
estimates that some 5 million people are living in the United States
without permission, and the number is growing by about 275,000 a year.
Native-born Americans and legal immigrants worry about the problem of
illegal immigration. Many believe that illegal immigrants (also called
"illegal aliens") take jobs from citizens, especially from
young people and members of minority groups. Moreover, illegal aliens
can place a heavy burden on tax-supported social services.

In 1986 Congress revised immigration law to deal with illegal aliens.
Many of those who had been in the country since 1982 became eligible
to apply for legal residency that would eventually permit them to stay
in the country permanently. In 1990, nearly 900,000 people took advantage
of this law to obtain legal status. The law also provided strong measures
to combat further illegal immigration and imposed penalties on businesses
that knowingly employ illegal aliens.

The Legacy
The steady stream of people coming to America's
shores has had a profound effect on the American character. It takes
courage and flexibility to leave your homeland and come to a new country.
The American people have been noted for their willingness to take risks
and try new things, for their independence and optimism. If Americans
whose families have been here longer tend to take their material comfort
and political freedoms for granted, immigrants are at hand to remind
them how important those privileges are.

Immigrants
taking the oath as new U.S. citizens

Immigrants
also enrich American communities by bringing aspects of their native
cultures with them. Many black Americans now celebrate both Christmas
and Kwanzaa, a festival drawn from African rituals. Hispanic Americans
celebrate their traditions with street fairs and other festivities on
Cinco de Mayo (May 5). Ethnic restaurants abound in many American cities.
President John F. Kennedy, himself the grandson of Irish immigrants,
summed up this blend of the old and the new when he called America "a
society of immigrants, each of whom had begun life anew, on an equal
footing. This is the secret of America: a nation of people with the
fresh memory of old traditions who dare to explore new frontiers....
"

Feature
Articles

InfoAlert

InfoAlert
highlights recent articles and reports from leading U.S. journals
and policy sources and provides informed commentary on international
and domestic issues.

Refugee
Resettlement in the United States
The U.S. refugee resettlement program reflects the United States’ highest
values and aspirations to compassion, generosity and leadership. Since
1975, Americans have welcomed almost 3 million refugees from all over
the world. Refugees have built new lives, homes and communities in towns
and cities in all 50 states... (America. gov, September 21, 2010)

New
Immigrants Live Russian and American Lives
Today’s Russian immigrants to the United States are more diverse — ethnically
and socially — than previous émigrés. Adapting easily to U.S. society,
they still retain a strong sense of their unique identity and enjoy
combining the best traditions of Russia with those of the United States.
... (America. gov, 18 June 2009)

A
Patchwork Culture - Identity in America
The United States is a patchwork of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural
backgrounds. The growing diversity of the U.S. population shapes how
Americans identify themselves.. (America.gov, March 2009)

Multicultural
Literature in the U.S.Today(Electronic
Journal, February 2009)
The United States is enriched culturally by immigrants from many nations.
This edition of eJournal USA focuses on distinguished American writers
from various ethnic backgrounds who add immeasurably to mutual understanding
and appreciation through tales of their native lands and their experiences
as Americans.

American
Olympic Team Reflects U.S. Diversity.By Domenick DiPasquale.
America.gov, July 30, 2008.
When the U.S. Olympic team competes in the Summer Olympics in Beijing,
the American athletes will be a microcosm of the world. At least 33
are foreign-born and some others are children of recent immigrants.

U.S.
Minority Population Continues to Grow. By David Minckler.
America.gov, May 14, 2008.
Slightly more than one-third of the population of the United States
-- 34 percent -- claims minority, racial or ethnic heritage, a jump
of 11 percent from 2000. The May
1 Census Bureau report, covering estimates for the year 2007, confirms
that the U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse. Hispanics
and Asians continue to be the two fastest-growing minorities.

Ellis
Island Honors Immigrants to United States. By Melody
Merin
Some 40 percent of Americans can trace their ancestry to immigrants
who passed through the Ellis Island immigration center between 1892
and 1954. (America.gov, May 9, 2008.)

The
Immigration Act of 1965: Intended and Unintended Consequences.
By Roger Daniels.
Little noted at the time and ignored by most historians for decades,
the 1965 law is now regarded as one of three 1965 statutes that denote
the high-water mark of late 20th-century American liberalism. (The other
two are the Voting Rights Act, which enforced the right of African Americans
to vote, and the Medicare/Medicaid Act, which financed health care for
older Americans and for persons in poverty.) The Immigration Act was
chiefly responsible for the tremendous surge in immigration in the last
third of the 20th century, and also greatly heightened the growing incidence
of Latin Americans and Asians in the mix of arrivals to the United States
in the decades that followed. (Historians
on America, September 2007.)

Texts
are abridged from U.S. State Department IIP
publications and other U.S. government materials.

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